Former Fauci adviser David Morens pleads guilty to conspiring to conceal Covid-19 records

A former adviser to infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to evade public records laws and conceal government documents related to ​grant research funding and the Covid-19 pandemic.

A former adviser to infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to evade public records laws and conceal government documents related to ​grant research funding and the Covid-19 pandemic.

David Morens, who had worked under Fauci ‌as a senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the pandemic, entered his plea, to a conspiracy charge during a hearing in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The 78-year-old had been indicted ​in April on charges related to what prosecutors said was a scheme to thwart ​public records requests received by the agency beginning in April 2020 related ⁠to Covid-19 research grants.

He faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced ​on November 12.

“By pleading guilty today, Dr. Morens has taken responsibility for what he did, ​and he will continue to do so,” Timothy Belevetz, his lawyer, said in a statement.